Christmas Eve box: What are they and what to put in them?

What are they?

A Christmas Eve box is usually a box containing various goodies that are opened by families the day before Christmas. The contents usually include things like snacks, a film, warm pyjamas, and hot chocolate. They are essentially a festive hamper so you and the family can pamper yourselves before the big day.

It is believed that the tradition comes from Germany, Austria, and some parts of Switzerland. Here, they open gifts on Christmas Eve. Even the British royal family uphold this tradition to honour their German heritage. Similarly, in Poland, they have their Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve instead.

Who should you give them to?

A Christmas Eve box could be given to a friend or family member. But they are often made for those you live with. Many parents make them for their kids. But adults can have them too! An adult’s Christmas Eve box will tend to have a few special drinks inside. And sometimes families have a single box with goodies to share.

Making your box

Wicker hamper

If you would prefer to make your Christmas Eve box more like a hamper, you could use a wicker basket. Line the bottom with some cushion and cloth, and neatly arrange your goodies. A hamper basket would make a great Christmas Eve box gift for a friend or family member. If it is for a couple, you could include some nice treats. Perhaps some candles, wine, Baily’s truffles, chocolates and a nice cheese board with delicious meats and fruit. Just be careful with how you store these foods, you don’t want them to spoil!

Personalised Christmas Eve box

Many places offer personalised Christmas Eve boxes. They will engrave whatever you like onto a wooden box. You could opt for your kid’s names, or your family’s. If you make a Christmas Eve box for a beloved pet, get their name and some cute pawprints.

You could also get other images and icons engraved too. Perhaps you could use a snowman, stockings, candy canes or reindeer. Whatever you like, you’re bound to be able to put it on your Christmas Eve box.

Build your own

If you’re feeling creative and fancy doing a Christmas craft project, you could make your own Christmas Eve box.

You may need some specialist tools for this, depending on the material you use.

If you’re making a wooden box, you can find sheets of wood and nails. Cut the wood to size and use glue and nails to secure your box into shape. When it is dry and sturdy, you can decorate!

Do you prefer the easier option of just buying an undecorated box? If yes, then you can begin jazzing up your Christmas Eve box straight away! Use paint, of whichever colour you like, and give the box a covering. If you’re doing this for kids, it can be great fun! You could take them to a store and let them select the paint colours they want for their box. You could also use various decorations like stamps, stickers, sequins and more to make your Christmas Eve box unique.

There will be plenty of stencils you could use online too to help you decorate. Print and cut out a silhouette image of Santa and his reindeer flying. There are endless designs to choose from. We definitely recommend using festive colours like red, green and white. You could use stamps to make magical stars and litter them all over your Christmas Eve box.

Gingerbread box

You could also paint your box to resemble a gingerbread house! Use pom poms for pretend sweets and cotton wool for snow-topped roofing. This can be a nice change from the traditional Christmas Eve box.

What should they contain?

It is up to you what to put in your Christmas Eve box. But we do have some ideas you might like!

1. Festive snacks

There are a lot of delicious festive treats you can put in your Christmas Eve box. You could put in some candy canes, a gingerbread house to build, or some homemade treats! These can also be especially fun to bake, particularly for kids. Here are some ideas you could make:

Cornflake wreaths

This is a fun and easy baking activity to put into your Christmas Eve box. Melt some white chocolate and add in green food colouring. Then pour in some cornflakes. Mix them together and then it’s time to get a little messy! Use clean hands to make wreath shapes on a baking tray. Then let your festive snacks cool down until they’re solid crispy cakes. You can also add on some red smarties or M&Ms to resemble winter berries.

Oreo snowmen

If you and your kids love Oreos and Olaf, this will be a favourite snack for your family! Use 2-3 Oreos and stick a kebab skewer or popsicle/lolly stick through each of them. Now you will have a tower of Oreos on a stick. Next, melt chocolate (white may look best) and dip the Oreos in them. As the chocolate cools, you can add small candies to make features. Use twiglets for the snowman’s arms and a candy corn for his nose!

You could also make Oreo reindeer by using milk or dark chocolate and sticking pretzels on for antlers.

Reindeer kibble

Chocolate mix

If you fancy a mix up of tasty sweets and treats, why not make your own reindeer kibble? This can be great to have in a big bowl to share whilst watching a festive film. But if you want to put them in a Christmas Eve box, you could put them in cute little bags. These bags could be personalised and decorated to resemble a reindeer.

You’ll need a variety of chocolate treats. So, grab yourself some bags of M&Ms, Hershey’s Kisses, Smarties, Shreddies and chocolate drops.

Melt some chocolate and mix in the shreddies. When they have dried, you can mash them up and add the other chocolates to create a mix.

The great thing with M&Ms is that they release packs of just green and red chocolates. So, you can add those if you want them to look extra festive. And it saves you having to pick out the red and green ones yourself!

You can then use melted chocolate to cover the shreddies. When they have dried again you can mash them up and add them to the mix. You can add powdered sugar to them if you want a snowy look.

Candy cane mix

You could always make a super easy reindeer kibble mix by smashing and snapping lots of candy canes. Then throw that peppermint goodness into a bowl or little bags. Now you have a minty, refreshing kibble mix! Or, if you fancy making it even more fun, you could use different flavoured candy canes. You won’t know which flavour you’ll be having next! There are plenty of weird and wonderful flavours out there to choose from. We have heard of gravy, pickle, and clam flavours… which we would politely pass on, but each to their own!

Healthier kibble alternative

Would you prefer to use a healthier alternative in your Christmas Eve box? You could use dried fruits to make your reindeer kibble. You could use a mix of dried bananas, apples, apricots, and strawberries. These can be enjoyed by both people and reindeer alike. So, dried fruits such as raisins and currants could be left outside for Santa’s reindeer to enjoy on their journey.

Festive fudge

Your little ones will love making tasty fudge to include in their Christmas Eve box. You could buy a bag of fudge or make your own. Then, use melted chocolates and sprinkles to decorate them. If you want to make them super festive and extra tasty, we suggest using white chocolate. Melt the white chocolate into different jugs, then add various festive food colouring. We suggest using red, white and green!

Dip your fudge pieces into the melted chocolate and then leave them on a baking tray to cool. As they are cooling, you can decorate them some more with sprinkles! Mix and match the colours, and once they’ve cooled down, you can put them in little bags. Add red and white ribbon to your little bags and even a gift tag with a nice message.

These are just a few of our snack ideas, and there are plenty more you can find at Santa Academy!

2. Pyjamas

One of the best things to include in your Christmas Eve box is some nice, warm, and fluffy pyjamas. Nothing beats the feeling of snuggly PJs when it’s cold outside.

3. Slippers

Just like fluffy PJs, it can be lovely to warm your feet with a nice pair of new slippers! There are plenty of designs, shapes, and sizes to choose from. So, treat yourself or a loved one to a pair that suits them.

4. Bubble bath

Kids love bubbles, that is not surprising. It’s a love most of us don’t grow out of either. So, including some bubble bath in your Christmas Eve box can be very much appreciated. During the holidays, there is likely to be many festive scents available too.

5. Candles & face masks

If you put bubble bath in your Christmas Eve box, then you should probably go for the full set. There will be plenty of Christmas candles available to choose from. Think of gingerbread, vanilla, fir, pine, cinnamon, oud, and peppermint. And to top it all off, pop in a face mask to help with relaxing and feeling good.

6. New soft toy

For your little ones, it can be magical to get a brand new plushie/soft toy in their Christmas Eve box. They’ll definitely enjoy a new friend to snuggle up with on the cold winter nights.

7. Hot chocolate & a mug

When the snow is falling outside, it’s nice and cosy to be cuddled up with a hot chocolate. Christmas Eve should always feature a nice beverage before bed. So, it is great to include a hot chocolate in a Christmas Eve box. You could also add in a mug, perhaps even a personalised one with a festive image or message. 

8. Wine and personalised glasses

For the adults that may prefer an alcoholic drink, choose a delicious wine to put in your Christmas Eve box. Whether it’s a tasty merlot, a pinot noir, or a classic rosé, it will no doubt be enjoyed! You could also include some personalised wine glasses. If the Christmas Eve box is for a couple, have their names engraved on the glasses. Or a festive message so they can be used for every Christmas to come! 

9. A new ornament for the tree

This Christmas Eve box idea could become a tradition for your family. Each year, add a new Christmas tree ornament that can be hung on the tree every Christmas Eve. By the time your kids are adults, there will be quite the collection! It can also be fun to look back at the previous ornaments and the memories they may stir up. 

10. Treats for Santa

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, you could include some treats for Santa and his reindeer! The reindeer need energy to fly around the world and pull Santa’s sleigh, as well as seeing in the dark. So, you could put some reindeer kibble in your Christmas Eve box. Your little ones will love sprinkling this outside, knowing they are helping out Rudolph and his friends. We have the perfect recipe for reindeer kibble at Santa Academy! Here’s what you will need:

• Oats & seeds
• Crunchy rice cereal/granola
• Dried fruit (cranberries or bananas)
• Grated carrot (to help the reindeer see in the dark!)
• Sugar
• Cinnamon.

For Santa, you could leave out the classic mince pies and milk or brandy. But if your kids want to get creative, you could leave out some homemade treats. Similar to the ones we mentioned earlier.

At Santa Academy, we have a recipe for Santa’s favourite cookies: Triple Choco Chinos. Your kids will love baking them!

You could also get some mini doughnuts and help your little ones decorate them! Use red, white, and green icing to make them extra festive. Then sprinkle them with some little stars.

We have plenty of ideas for festive snacks you can bake!

11. Books

Are you or your kids avid readers? If yes, then it can be great to add a book into the Christmas Eve box. We love reading here at Santa Academy, and we know the value of learning. We always want to develop our knowledge, even as adults! So, we will always help and encourage kids to do the same. We have a selection of the best Christmas books. So, check out our list and see if any tickle your fancy.

Here are some of the best Christmas books we recommend:

1. Madeline’s Christmas – Ludwig Bemelmans
2. Doc McStuffins: A Very McStuffins Christmas – Disney
3. Barney’s Christmas surprise – Mark S Bernthal
4. Din Dan Don, it’s Christmas – Janina Domanska
5. The Twelve Days of Christmas – Jan Brett
6. Stick Man – Julia Donaldson
7. Christmas in the Barn – Margaret Wise Crown
8. The Littlest Elf – Brandi Dougherty
9. Babar and Father Christmas – Jean de Brunhoff
10. Merry Christmas, Ollie – Olivier Dunrea
11. Who Built the Stable – Ashley Bryan
12. N is for Navidad – Susan Middleton Elya and Merry Banks
13. Disney’s It’s a Small World: Christmas Around the World
14. Only a star – Margery Facklam
15. Snowmen at Christmas – Caralyn Buehner
16. Oh, What A Christmas! – Michael garland
17. Georgie The Gingerbread Fairy – Tim Bugbird
18. It’s Christmas – Tina Burke
19. The Star Tree – Gisela Colle
20. Christmas Morning – Cheryl Ryan Harshman
21. Maisy’s Christmas Day – Lucy Cousins
22. The Most Precious Gift – Marty Crisp
23. Merry Christmas, Gemma – Sarah Hayes
24. Not Until Christmas, Walter! – Eileen Christelow
25. How The Grinch Stole Christmas – Dr. Seuss
26. Grace at Christmas – Mary Hoffman
27. Peter Claus and the Naughty List – Lawrence David
28. Guess Who’s Coming to Santa’s for Dinner? – Tomie Depaola
29. Llama Llama Holiday Drama – Anna Dewdney
30. Great joy – Kate Dicamillo.

Films

If you or your kids prefer to watch films, then we have a lot of recommendations for you! The night before Christmas should be spent being cosy with loved ones. So, make some hot chocolate or eggnog, spread out the festive snacks, and stick on a festive film. Don’t forget a snuggly blanket too!

Here are some of the best Christmas films to put in your Christmas Eve box:

• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Home Alone
• Home Alone 2
• Fred Claus
• Polar Express
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• The Grinch (2018)
• Mickey’s Christmas Carol
• Love Actually
• Die Hard
• The Santa Clause
• Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas
• ELF
• Miracle On 34^th Street
• Snow
• Frozen 1 and 2 – and the short films (not technically Christmas films but every kid loves belting out Let It Go with Elsa…and so do adults!)
• Arthur Christmas
• Scrooged
• Father Christmas
• I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
• Santa Clause Is Coming to Town
• Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
• The Holiday
• Jack Frost
• Santa Buddies
• The Nativity
• Christmas Carol
• Muppets Christmas Carol
• Christmas Chronicles
• Frosty The Snowman
• Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure
• The Nutcracker
• Chronicles Of Narnia
• Harry Potter Series/Lord of the Rings. (These are not Christmas films, but they are popular to watch at Christmas as a tradition by many families).

You should now have plenty of ideas for what to include in your Christmas Eve box. Whether it is for an adult or a child, there are so many goodies to hide inside. And they definitely get you excited for the big day.

Need more ideas for activities?

Finding activities to do with kids can sometimes be a challenge. If you are looking for ideas, we have more at Santa Academy. You can download several activities from our activity packs. We have several to choose from, inspired by our different factions. You can learn how to care for pets and practice PE with Reindeer Recruits. Learn how plastic damages the environment and how different cultures celebrate Christmas with Fairy Fellows. Make slime and candy with Elf Ed! Our app launches in November 2022!

Keep up with Santa Academy

You can find new stories every day on the Lacus Herald! Your little one can stay up to date with all their favourite characters, as well as the latest news. At Santa Academy, your little one can join Reindeer Recruit, Fairy Fellow or enrol into Elf Ed! Lacus Island features 70+ characters, 50+ buildings, 19 unique shops and its own TV and radio stations.

Lacus Herald

Many children have missed out on their learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We know how crucial it is to help kids catch up. That was one of the reasons for launching our learning resources. Our resources aim to keep kids reading and give families something they can enjoy together.

We know our resources have been a great help to those home-schooling children. So, we are not stopping there! On the Lacus Herald, we will be publishing stories and news updates daily. Your kids can stay updated with Santa Academy and continue their learning in a fun environment. Designed to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Find more fun, festive tips and ideas, such as:

• Easy Christmas crafts for kids
• Christmas printables
• Things to do near you for Christmas
• Christmas activity book ideas
• Christmas art ideas
• Christmas party ideas for kids
• Tips for helping kids to read
• Christmas baking for kids
• Christmas countdown ideas for your family
• Christmas writing ideas
• And many more!